Every four years the world’s finest athletes train vigorously to prepare and compete in the greatest contest known to mankind: the Olympics. Countries around the world put forth their most determined, athletic, and hard-working men and women in hopes of bringing home not only pride and victory but also gleaming medals around their necks. Every athlete dreams of becoming an Olympian. They dream of those feelings of rushing emotion. They dream of standing on top of that podium as a gold medal is placed upon them… and in the 1998 winter Olympics held in Japan, America’s own Laurie Baker did just that. 

The Beginning of a Rink Rat: 

Ever since she was a young girl, the rink had always been a part of Laurie’s life. Watching her brother race around the ice, the speed of the puck weaving between players and stick alike, was always something that drew her interest from the start. It was being a “rink rat” as she described it; that first introduced her long-lasting love for the sport. “I first learned how to skate when I was about five or six years old. After going to my brother’s games and practices, I asked my parents if I could try it out. It looked really fun!”  

As the years progressed and skills were strengthened, the young Laurie Baker strived to be the best player she could be. Beginning her high school career, Baker first attended her local public school, which to her disappointment, did not offer a school ice hockey team. “Public schools at the time did not have ice hockey as a sport. The private schools did on the other hand.” So, by the time she was a junior, Laurie transferred to Lawrence Academy to fulfil her dreams of playing on a school team, where she would eventually win multiple New England prep school tournaments. “The Olympics wasn’t a goal of mine at the time. It was in the 1998 Olympics that the sport was first introduced for women… When we first heard that women’s ice hockey would be added to the events, which was in my senior year of high school, I realized I wanted that to be my goal.” 

Once she graduated, Laurie continued her hockey journey at the division 1 level at Providence College in Rhode Island where she balanced schoolwork, being on the Olympic team, and being a player on her school’s team too. During her career at Providence, Baker accomplished outstanding achievements such as ECAC (Eastern College Athletic Conference) Rookie of the Year (1996), ECAC First-Team All-Star (1997), scored 75 goals in two seasons, was named Providence Athlete of the Year (1997), all while doing so as a gold medalist Olympian. 

Livin’ the Dream: 

Outside of school, Laurie took her talents to the various camps that USA ice hockey held. “I first started my recruitment process when I was fifteen. During the summer I would go to the tryouts that USA hockey held,” Laurie recalled. Every year, the tryouts and pools that an athlete was placed in would become increasingly difficult. “I attended these camps until I was about seventeen. After that, most girls my age were of the age to try out for the national team and then obviously the Olympic team.” 

Tryouts for the Olympic and national teams began in August of ‘97. “The team was selected based on four different national tournaments. We would play against different countries and were picked based on our performance.”  And by the time August was nearing an end, Laurie got the call saying that she had made the team. “I was very ecstatic to be able to represent my country. I was happy for my parents too because they put a lot of time and effort into pursuing my dreams. Just knowing that I was on a team with nineteen other girls with the same goal as mine was amazing.” 

Training like an Olympian: 

Getting an education while simultaneously training for the World’s most elite competition was no easy task. In Laurie’s case, this provided an entirely unique training experience that was different from the rest of her teammates. “That August I had just finished up my sophomore year in college. A lot of the other girls had more time to work out with off ice training, but since I had school and my college team, I was a bit behind on that part.” Laurie stated. Eventually, Laurie decided to take her next year of college off in order to train for the Olympics. Days would consist of early morning practices and off ice training. “Looking back,” Baker says, “the girls today have a lot more training and nutrition work on and off ice than we had.” 

The One-Way Ticket to Japan: 

After all those long, rigorous months of vigorous training, the Olympics were finally front and center. What happened in these games would go down in history as the first women’s ice hockey Olympic games. Six countries would skate in an all-out battle for the gold medal. Only one would return home victorious. The teams were separated into two pools, Pool A and Pool B. The teams would play each other in their own respective pools, then they would switch. “We ended up playing Canada in the preliminary, which was obviously our rival. We also played Sweden and Finland, who actually gave us a pretty good game.”  

With the most anticipated game, the preliminaries were the match of the century. With blasts of frigid air beating across Laurie face and wind rustling through her hair, the Americans were down 4-1. “This was a really monumental game.” Laurie recalled, “We were down by so many points, but we kept beating them and beating them to the point where we came back, and we eventually won! It was super unheard of… I mean, not a lot of teams can make a comeback from three goals down, especially against Canada.” As team USA advanced throughout the rankings, they eventually faced Canada again in the finals… what the team didn’t know, however, was that the honor of the gold medal was right at their fingertips. 

Sweet, Sweet Victory: 

With the final buzzer ringing throughout the rink, team USA won the first gold medal with a score of 3-1. Canada earned the silver medal, and Finland came in 3rd place with the bronze. “When we won, it felt like the job was complete.” Laurie says, “We were all excited, but I also felt a sense of relief too… All of us had been playing for so long and we finally put the sport on the map for young girls in the States.” According to Laurie, those young girls were a major motivator for their win too. Being able to not only represent your country, but also be a hero to the younger generation, is what makes a woman like Laurie proud of what she’s accomplished. “We knew that there were so many girls out there that were starting to play. We would see them outside our bus and at our games asking for an autograph… it was great because hockey would be booming for girls!” 

As the 1998 winter games in Nagano, Japan came to an end, the United States’s twenty newest athletic heroes returned home to parades and the comfort of their families and friends. “All eyes were on us when we came home. We were asked to do speaking engagements, sign autographs, and attend different parades.” After all the hype died down and time moved on, Laurie decided to train to play in the next winter Olympic games in 2002, which was held in Salt Lake City, Utah. The team went on to win the silver medal against Canada with a score of 2-3. 

Life after the Games: 

After her Olympic and athletic career came to an end, Laurie knew her next career path would be along the lines of what she loved the most: sports. So, with tons of new free time, she travelled back to her hometown where she was presented with the opportunity to work at her old high school, Lawrence Academy. “I’ve always wanted to be an athletic director at a school. I got a call from Lawrence Academy and became the assistant athletic director there.” As for sharing her knowledge about sports, Laurie also became the coach for women’s ice hockey and soccer at the school where she helps the next generation of athletes realize their dreams, where one day, they too can go for the gold.